White House Gives N.J. Health Officials List Of At Least 206 People Who May Have Been Exposed To COVID-19 At President Trump's Bedminster Event
BEDMINSTER, N.J. (CBS) -- The White House has given the New Jersey Department of Health a list of at least 206 individuals who may have been exposed to COVID-19 at President Trump's event last Thursday in Bedminster. New Jersey health officials say they've reached out to all the individuals who were possibly exposed to COVID-19, recommending they self-monitor for symptoms or quarantine if they were in close contact with the President and his staff.
"The White House supplied to NJ officials the names of at least 206 individuals who attended the events," health officials tweeted. "DOH has reached out to these individuals to make them aware of possible exposure and recommend that they self-monitor for symptoms and quarantine if they were in close contact with the President and his staff."
Health officials are also interviewing staff members of the Trump National Golf Club to determine the level of contact they had with the President and his staff.
The majority of the club's staff lives in Somerset County. While the contract tracing process is still ongoing, officials recommend anyone who attended the event that plans on getting tested for the coronavirus should wait at least five to seven days from the event because a negative test early on cannot definitely rule out that COVID-19 will not develop.
"Attendees that are seeking a test should consider waiting at least 5-7 days from the event," health officials said. "While the risk is low, a negative test earlier than that time cannot definitively rule out that COVID-19 will not develop. Those who are concerned that they were in close contact should quarantine for 14 days."
Federal health officials have been notified and are also doing contract tracing.
Meanwhile, doctors say President Trump has "continued to improve" and respond to treatment for COVID-19, which suggests he could be discharged from the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and return to the White House as early as Monday if he continues to make progress.
"If he continues to look and feel as well as he does today, our hope is that we can plan for a discharge as early as tomorrow to the White House where he can continue his treatment course," said Dr. Brian Garibaldi of Johns Hopkins University, who is consulting the president's medical treatment.
But Dr. Sean Conley, the White House physician, also revealed the president had been given a dose of a steroid, dexamethasone, on Saturday, and had experienced two drops in his oxygen levels since the onset of the illness, CBS News reports.
Dexamethasone has been shown to improve outcomes for patients with severe cases of COVID-19, including those who require supplemental oxygen, but is not recommended for use in patients with milder cases.
Stay with CBSPhilly.com for the latest on President Trump's condition and any COVID-19 cases linked to the White House.
